writing about cool people making cool things

Comix Creator Feature: Natasha Lagasca Barredo

“Kumusta! My name is Natasha Lagasca Barredo and I’m a proud Filipina and a California-based artist for comics and animation. You can find my work on natashalb.tumblr.com. I also love tweeting and socializing, so please come talk to me about your favorite thing over at @KUHNUCKLES.”

Favorite inspiration, collaborators, other professionals you’ve worked with if any?

I have so many people I’ve worked with that were so instrumental in my growth not only as an artist but as a person as well. I’m too embarrassed to list them here but chances are I’m always crying about their work on Twitter.

Anyone you’d like to collaborate with some day? Why?

I want to work with a lot of my friends! Everyone is so great- I feel like I’m always (and happily) learning new things. I want to focus the spotlight on Hannah Ayoubi and K.L. Ricks [read her interview on this blog here!] real quick, though. They’re both such amazing women, how was I able to call them my friends?! Hannah’s storytelling is incredible and is displayed through how much character each stroke of a drawing they put down on paper. I’m constantly in awe in how Hannah portrays characters, there’s so much life in them. Kelsi is an impeccable poet. She brings this particular pacing and decadent prose through her visuals. Country Darkness is a work of art. I want to pick their brain if I ever get the chance to collaborate with them, if they’ll let me. Haha!

Favorite genre to read? To work in? Are there any you won’t work in?

I love josei manga. I love slice of life. I love a dash of whimsy in a realistic setting and I hope to bring work like that to the table. I love silly comics, too!

Have you ever faced adversity/discouragement for being a woman in your field? How did you overcome it?

I’ve worked in a places that were predominantly white and I felt like, being a woman of color, my voice was not welcome. You don’t want to work in a place like that, especially if they’re not open to reforming. With this industry, I feel like sometimes I’m walking on eggshells. This is a tough question to answer as people are not always in the best positions to voice their issues. Luckily I’ve been seeing more and more effort to normalize diversity. I want to push this idea forward.

Coolest moment you’ve had as a creator?

I think, after my internship at Nickelodeon, that’s when I knew I needed to be in this industry. I wanted to do something that had to do with entertainment. So I was like, well, I can’t act but I do love drawing and telling jokes, comics and animation were that happy medium for me. I feel very lucky and privileged to be able to make stuff to share. I think, that’s when I knew I’ve ‘made it’. When I realized I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

How do you think the current comics industry is toward women? What can we do to improve it further and create a safe space?

I’m fairly new to the comics industry and I know sexism, racism, and elitists run rampant. But that’s basically in any industry. I’m a woman of color and an intersectional feminist so, already, there is a target on my back. But so what? There are independent publishers that care about people like me and are making GOOD STUFF. I say, focus on those creators, they have so much to say, they just need eyes and ears.

What do comics mean to you?

Comics, to me, mean telling a story with a different soul.

Advice to other female creators in the field?

Be good to yourself. And make that nsfw comic you’ve always wanted to do.